Identification, antimicrobial activity, and mycochemicals of Lentinus spp. cultivated in papaya peel medium

Lentinus spp. (Family Polyporaceae) are widely studied for their nutritional and medicinal properties; however, research on their cultivation outside their natural habitat is limited. This study aimed to identify and examine the mycochemical contents and bioactivity of Lentinus spp. cultivated in papaya peel medium. Two different species of Lentinus spp. were collected from Indonesia and subjected to morphological and molecular analyses. Mushroom mycelia were sub-cultured on potato dextrose agar and then cultivated on papaya peel at 25°C ± 2°C for 20 days. Ethanol extracts of the harvested mycelium were analyzed for their antimicrobial activities and mycochemicals using qualitative assays and GC-MS. Results identified these species as Lentinus squarrosulus (LSQ) and Lentinus sajor-caju (LSJ). Only LSQ showed antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923, Staphylococcus epidermidis, and Propionibacterium acnes ATCC 6919. Mycochemical analysis revealed that LSQ contained terpenoids, with hexadecanoic acid methyl ester (10.85) and 9,12-octadecadienoyl chloride (10.82) and maltol (8.73) as its major compounds. This investigation revealed the possible antibacterial activity of LSQ against P. acnes, which was rarely documented. © 2024 Alivia Nur Maysaroh et al.